Industry Report: Forum d'Avignon: Which Culture for Europe?

6th edition of the international meetings of the Forum d’Avignon

by Sara Petti

20/11/2013 - The international meetings 2013 of the Forum d’Avignon will be held November 21-23. “The powers of culture” is the chosen theme this year

The 6th Forum d’Avignon, the international think thank dedicated to culture and creative industries, will take place between November 21-23. The yearly meetings are a unique field of reflection, discussion and exchange of best practices for the professionals of this sector that now accounts for 6,1% of the global GDP, and should therefore be given more weight on the international political scene.

With more than 450 participants from 40 countries, guaranteeing a great diversity of opinions, this year’s edition will focus on “the powers of culture”. In the current situation of budgetary austerity, which – together with the digital shift – is bringing major changes to the cultural and audio-visual sector worldwide, the Forum will not only address the economic dimension of culture but also its job creation and cohesive role.

The Forum wishes to re-centre the European and international policymaking on culture through three priority actions:

1. highlight the crucial role of culture in reinforcing identity and cohesion, in view of the European election of 2014;

2. underline the importance of the cultural and creative sector as a catalyser of urban development and cohesion, with a special focus on the network of cities CATALYSE (Avignon, Bilbao and Essen) supported by the EU Culture programme;

3. analyse the benefits of culture for the civil society and make the latter demand culture to the policy makers.

Cineuropa will attend the Forum and follow the event closely, which includes an international survey, to be lead at the same time as the international meetings: the Forum will be questioning 100 international personalities about the powers of culture in all its dimensions. Some new papers by major consultants and research groups will be presented.

There will be a final study by EY and the Forum on Big Data. The paper examines the delicate issue of personal cultural data and the difficulty of finding a balance between liberty and control. Big Data provide great powers to those handling them, but are also likely to boost creation. Download the study here.

Bain & Company has developed a paper on the change in consumption: from home consumption to an individual and customisable one that depends more on social networks than on the word of mouth. Download the study here.

The study by Kurt Salmon analyses the value chains of the cultural and creative sector, focusing on cinema, music, books and videogames. Assuming that the digital shift has brought major changes, this paper tries to understand which is the most powerful link in the chain and whether we can talk about a digital revolution or just a digital evolution. Download the study here.

Louvre Alliance adds a new variable to the equation and also takes into account the power of territories. After a long analysis of the actual meaning of culture, and how the notion has evolved and changed in the last century, Louvre Alliance tries to shape a good cultural policy for Europe that would take advantage of the potential of the digital shift. Download the study here.

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